Federal Government Throws $10 Billion at This Problem, and is Shocked When It Didn’t Get Fixed

Here we go again. Here is another example of government not only not solving a problem which they created in the first place, but by “solving it,” they made things worse. Of course this is government’s standard M.O.

How many times do small government conservatives have to assert that government doesn’t solve problems – it is the problem. And how many times do we have to be proven right before the madness ends. Okay – that’s a silly question.

The latest example of government making worse the problem they created is the V.A. healthcare system. Feel free to also call it a vision of the future of Obamacare. And why is it that America’s heroes are always the ones getting the shaft?

We never seem to hear about the sorry state of the welfare system, or any of the other hundreds of government giveaway programs. They seem to get their checks and benefits on time. It’s always our veterans, the men and women who put it all on the line for our country, who get the government short-shrift.

Reports have been consistently bad on the state of the V.A. system for years – decades even, yet it can’t seem to get fixed. We’ve all heard horror stories, one after another, of veterans receiving care ranging from inadequate to downright appalling. And that’s assuming they receive care at all. Many have died waiting to receive it.

Two years ago the brainiacs in Congress decided enough was enough. It was time to “fix the chronic delay problem at the Veterans Health Administration.” So they did what governments always do – throw gobs of money at it. That will fix it right up. They threw down $10 billion to develop the “Veterans Choice” program.

Wow – that sounds great! It always does. They invariably come up with a catchy name or slogans to make us all feel good. During the signing, Obama proclaimed the virtue of the program. He said: “If you like doctor, you can keep your doctor.” Oops – wrong bogus proclamation. He actually said: “If you live more than 40 miles from a VA facility, or if VA doctors can’t see you within a reasonable amount of time, you’ll have the chance to see a doctor outside the VA system.” The “reasonable amount of time” is supposed to be 30 days. If after that waiting period veterans still have not seen anyone, they were to use their shiny new Veterans Choice card to seek out a private sector physician.

That was 2014. It’s 2016 and the problem should be solved. Wrongo kemosabe. It’s worse now than it was before they spent $10 billion to fix it. It’s so bad even NPR felt compelled to report on it.

Since the Veterans Choice program went into effect, “wait times have gotten worse – not better.” They added that, “Compared with this time last year, there are 70,000 more appointments that took vets at least a month to be seen. The program is confusing and complicated. Vets don’t understand it, doctors don’t understand it, and even VA administrators admit that can’t always figure it out.” And because of the convoluted bureaucracy, doctors and hospitals aren’t being paid – so they’ve started refusing the shiny Veterans Choice card. But what would one expect from an “entirely government-run health program.”

So in rides Congress again, to fix the problem originally created by other big government progressives, which they made worse by trying to fix a system which can’t be.

I am quite confident that whatever hare-brained scheme they come up with will make things worse (if that’s even possible) and will cost billions more. But I bet it will have a catchy name!

Until this problem is fixed – and by fixed I mean privatized – Congress, the Senate and the President should be required to utilize the V.A. system. See how fast it gets fixed then.

The Common Constitutionalist, is a constitutional conservative who advocates for first principles – the Founders' original intent and enemy of progressives. He is Navy veteran and a martial arts expert. Smith considers himself just an average Joe with no formal journalism background – but rather than simply complain about the state of our nation, he took to the Internet to battle the left.